Gotta' love the Criterion dvds. Which is your favorite treatment and why? I have to say, the Videodrome Criterion Collection DVD is just great. From the box art (long live the flesh!) to the booklet with some damn interested essays about what a weird mother-fucker Cronnenberg is, it's just a great set. As is the Fear And Loathing, and Fanny and Alexander set. All really pricey unfortunately. I'm a sucker for a well produced DVDs.

They did a nice a job onna the Brazil by that guy who does alla the cartoons onna the Monty Python show. They give a you the multiple cuts of a the film anna you can a decide which a one you like a the best... good example of a how the editing process can a change a the film.

I have a question for you guys: what/who exactly is Criterion? I've seen these editions for years on the shelves, I may actually own a few, but i've never really know what they are or what they do tahts so special.

Personally I love the Criterion collection for their film and track restoration, which is usually beautifully and meticulously done. They also release relatively off-beat titles (a crap-load of rare Asian films), and some great commentary and booklets. If you had any I assume they would be Chasing Amy, The Life Aquatic or the Royal Tennenbaums, which were some of the most widely available installments, and cheapest. Places like Circuit City don't even stock criterion most of the time. Also, Salo, (which goes for a thousand bucks on ebay) represents the hardest DVD on earth to find, since Criterions go out of print once and a while. I have Straw Dogs which is OOP and usually goes for 80-100 bucks for a 2-disc set.

so sorry wrote:I have a question for you guys: what/who exactly is Criterion? I've seen these editions for years on the shelves, I may actually own a few, but i've never really know what they are or what they do tahts so special.

Criterions are something special. Most of the time, they are important films given very special treatment. SEVEN SAMURAI is a Criterion DVD, and one of my favorites. FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS is another top-notch one. Also, Criterions tend to go out of print, and some of them end up being worth quite a lot of money (see THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED). Criterions go that extra mile for a decent DVD set.

I dont know what the best Criterion treatment is because I dont own them all, but Ive really enjoyed the ones Ive purchased. So far I have bought: Seven Samurai, Sanjuro, Sisters, Le Cercle Rouge, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Videodrome, Straw Dogs, Bob Le Flambeur, Onibaba, Branded To Kill, Do The Right Thing.

I love Straw Dogs! The Criterion DVD is just beautiful. Its one of those movies that just sucks me in and the siege on the house, when I see it, my adrenaline goes sky high. I was really impressed by the Criterion DVD. I dont think its in print anymore so I'm really glad I bought it.

My a only problem with a the Straw Dogs is a the premise... Dino, he canna just buy that a the Susie George is a gonna hook up with a the Dusty Hoffman. The guy's a complete a panty-waist... yeah, yeah, the Dino, he knows it's alla part a his transformation, but I just canna get past a the relationship. It's a kind a like alla you American sitcoms with a the big flat slob of a the husband, anna the hot tomato for a the wife.

Brazil is a great set, just wish the transfer was anamorphic though. Sparticus is quite a nice package too as is fear and loathing. I also have the original vanishing which is very light on extras but a cracking film. I also have the once priced criterion version of Robocop which has been superceded by mgms special edition. Wish I could still afford criterion releases!

"Around dawn in Edinburgh is a really good time to see the castle wandering around, having a wank. "

Keepcoolbutcare I am impressed by your ability to see Beverley d'Angelo and Ralph Wiggum and then come up with a Episode where she not only does a voice but also has a huge crush on Homer who I assume in human form would be rather ugly, thus staying on topic for the off topic stuff.

Occasionally, Criterion does a turkey, like "The Silence of the Lambs." The extras are minimal, the commentary is disjointed, and since the film was fairly new, there's not much in the way of reconstruction/remastering. Ah, well.

"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." -- Noam Chomsky

PVIII wrote:Gotta' love the Criterion dvds. Which is your favorite treatment and why? I have to say, the Videodrome Criterion Collection DVD is just great. From the box art (long live the flesh!) to the booklet with some damn interested essays about what a weird mother-fucker Cronnenberg is, it's just a great set. As is the Fear And Loathing, and Fanny and Alexander set. All really pricey unfortunately. I'm a sucker for a well produced DVDs.

PVIII

Under your recommendation, I recently picked up both the Videodrome and Fanny & Alexander Criterion DVDs... I have yet to watch them though, but I look forward to it.

I suggest that someone retitle this thread to just plain "Criterion Collection." The "best" kind of irritates me... well, now that that's out of the way, I have both the 2-disc Criterion versions of Life Aquatic and Royal Tenenbaums, as well as Fanny and Alexander (this film taught me a lot about Eruopean society), The Battle of Algiers (amazing, simply amazing and totally worth the price), Videodrome, and most recently The Man Who Fell to Earth. I'm not sure I enjoyed that last one, as it totally weirded me out. Like, totally. I think I'll go for samurai stuff next, but I've also had my eye on Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul for some time now.

between dvd and laserdisc i own quite a few. i get a little pissed, because sometimes they can be a little pricey, and the extras are scant. but then i remind myself that its a criterion, and i dont give a shit anymore, and i buy it. i think their release of kurosawas "The Bad Sleep Well" is coming out relatively soon. im all over that one. criterion dvds are like the only ones i will buy without having seen the movie first. to me, if they put it out, it doesnt matter, its something i should see. i keep bugging them about doing Barry Lyndon (the WB treatment is an insult), Akira Kurosawas Dreams (WB strikes again) and the lost classic "URGH! A Music War". they ignore my pleas, but god bless them anyways.

First of all, their new MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH is one of the sweetest DVDs I own. I've triple-dipped on that film now, and it was worth the wait.

Regarding ARMAGEDDON and THE ROCK, those were actually deals negotiated by Disney where they agreed to donate massive fees to Criterion so that Michael Bay could feel good about himself. In exchange, Criterion was able to release about 50 smaller films that they might otherwise not have been able to afford to license.

I agree that it's ridiculous to have an ARMAGEDDON Criterion, but if that means we get ALI FEAR EATS THE SOUL and FANNY & ALEXANDER, then so be it.

I've been a fan of this company since 1990, when I saw the first laserdisc by them. Even then, they were the industry leader in terms of the types of titles they licensed and the content they included. The CAV TAXI DRIVER set is still one of the best home video versions of any movie I've ever owned.

It's funny you answered the Armageddon and Rock question, Mori, 'cause I was just going to ask it!

Maybe I should give the Man Who Fell to Earth another go, but I found it extremely difficult to get into that film. It just seems so distant! Maybe I'll read the book, which is one of the reasons I took a chance on this disc. Now that is a classy "special feature"!

burlivesleftnut wrote:There's a lot of maybes in there, Pacino. Step up of get out.

Maybe one of you moderators can retitle the thread!
Maybe I should be more assertive, or maybe I should just shut up!
Maybe I should stop saying maybe, or maybe not!
Oo, brain cramp. It's not twisted! It's just a cramp.

I seriously thought this was gonna be a thread claiming Criterion was putting out the movie BEST OF THE BEST. Which woulda been cool I bet. Anyway, I would say FEAR AND LOATHING is my favorite for the extras but usually it's just the movies that make it good. Like EYES WITHOUT A FACE, I was glad they put that one out.

I would expect On Deadly Ground, I mean it could feature a separate documentary covering the deep philosophically meaning behind the ecological message, and a masterclass by Caine on playing a bad guy...

alonzo..... my apologies you ho-bag! - banthafodderUK

...that was the funniest post I've ever read at AICN. Comedy gold. I'm stealing it and shooting it in nothing other than a static two-shot. - Kevin Smith

I was an early adopter of dvd 1997 and had access to all the oop stuff bought the killer the day it came out the 400 blows and have about every title from them the best being spartacus being I am an ultimate kubrick fan

My fav Criterion dvds are unfortunately the only ones I own, the Akira Kurosawa collection (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Hidden Fortress). Typically the Criterion dvds are a wee bit pricey for me, but the set was 70 bucks and I couldnt resist. I want more, but Im poor.

~Tonight I go as a Nemesis bearing just and blazingly cataclysmic vengance.~

I just got RAN. It has a great documentary on Kurosawa.
On a different note, Blue Underground has been putting out some great dvds. Their "The Bird with Crystal Plumage" and "Fire and Ice" had some nice extras, clean sound and transfer, etc. I would particularly suggest "Fire and Ice" if you like Frank Frazetta.

Agent Alonzo wrote:I would expect On Deadly Ground, I mean it could feature a separate documentary covering the deep philosophically meaning behind the ecological message, and a masterclass by Caine on playing a bad guy...

If they ever did do a Steven Seagal Criterion (LOL), it would be a slap in the face if Hard To Kill wasn't first.